Who is popular today?

Looking back after 20 years, I recall how an unswerving PM bullied MPs to get their votes and ignored all the warningsMost of what happens in parliament is theatre – symbolic and significant, but one step away from reality. But the discussion and debate in the weeks and days leading up to the Iraq war was the most intense and emotional that I have witnessed in the Commons. It was literally about matters of life and death. It was obvious from the beginning that Tony Blair was determined to go to war, shoulder to shoulder with George W Bush. The prime minister’s relationship with the US seemed to matter more more to him than opinion in his own party, and it also seemed to matter more than whether the war was even legal or not.The public rationale was that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was harbouring those responsible for 9/11: al-Qaida and its leader, Osama bin Laden. In order to shore up support, Alastair Campbell, Blair’s spin doctor, was involved with the production of a dossier on Iraq’s weapons programme. Reading it at the time, I realised there was very little substance to it.Diane Abbott has been the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here Continue reading...